It's the last week of school, and we have exams in the Upper School--that means we have a different schedule and an earlier release for each day... Summer is almost here! In the meantime, this is a VERY long post as it is packed with information!The 2012-2013 Final Exam schedule is as follows:Monday, June 3rd

10:30 - 11:30 Eighth Grade Graduation--times are approximate depending on other activities for the day!

11:30 – noon End of the year clean-up with student dismissal at noon--the actual time may be slightly later as this will depend upon whether all activities are on schedule and students have their cubbies cleaned out for the summer!

Mystery Fiction: Your Recipe for Deathwill be presented on Tuesday, June 4th from 9:00 to 11:30. You will be evaluating each other, so please be sure that you are prepared to do this—in other words, bring something with which you can write! Once all of the presentations are complete, we will finish watching Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express!

Publications & Media: If I do not finish cutting and inserting the covers into the DVD cases on Sunday, we will need to do that while we compile, burn, pack, and distribute the 2012-2013 VBFS Yearbook DVDs [and the miscellaneous DVD for US students as well] during our exam time of Monday, June 3rd, from 12:30 – 3:00.

Shakespeare’s Comedies:Yourmulti-media presentations of quotations from a comedy we read during class coupled with contemporary images to prove that Shakespeare's words are still relevant more than 400 years after they were first written will be presented during our scheduled exam time of Thursday, June 6th, from 9:00 to 11:30. You will be evaluating each other, so please be sure that you are prepared to do this—in other words, bring something with which you can write! If we finish early, we will finish watching Forbidden Planet, a 1950s Sci-Fi version of The Tempest....Web 2.0: Tips, Tricks, and Tools: You are finished blogging for the course, but you can always drop me a line or two during the summer! Your five “page” websites will be presented to the class during our scheduled exam time on Monday, June 3rd from 12:30 to 3:00.You will be evaluating each other, so please be sure that you are prepared to do this—in other words, bring something with which you can write!

World Literature: Your final multi-media project on the poet or poetry collection you selected will be presented during our scheduled exam block time on Monday, June 3rd, from 9:00 to 11:30. You will be evaluating each other, so please be sure that you are prepared to do this—in other words, bring something with which you can write! !

Student Guidelines for Exam Week 2013

ALL US classes, regardless of discipline, will have an exam or a culminating activity which takes place during the designated exam time. NO ONE is excused from exams or final activities, regardless of course average or grade level! [So, no, You are NOT excused if you are a senior or have an A average...]

YOU should arrive on time for Advisory as there are many little end of the year chores that must be taken care of—cleaning out cubbies, returning books to the library, etc.

NO cell phones, iPods, or other electronic devices are permitted to be used during exams/final activities unless permitted by THAT particular teacher during THAT block [For example, just because you can use an iPod in Workshop during the block one exam period, that does not mean that you can use the iPod in Shakespeare's Comedies... 'cause you can't!]

You may NOT leave before the end of the exam block regardless of whether you have finished your exams or the activity planned for the class finishes early. You should bring something quiet to work on each day while waiting for an exam block to end.

If the exam/activity finishes before the end of the scheduled time, please keep noise to a minimum as a courtesy to others—you should have something to do [read, perhaps?] QUIETLY once you complete exams or presentations..

If you are a Senior with Early Release, you may leave after your morning exams on Tuesday and/or Thursday as scheduled [4th and/or 8th blocks]. However, if transportation is an issue, you may NOT remain upstairs in the US; you should go to the library and remain there quietly until you are picked up. Please do NOT just assume that a teacher who is working in his/her room can visit with you—each of us has a LOT of grading to do this week!If you have a workshop for any blocks OTHER than 8th block, you should report to your workshops—you can study for exams!

If you have an 8th block workshop, you do NOT have to remain at school on Thursday once you are dismissed from your 7th block classes. However, if transportation is an issue, you may NOT remain in the US; you should report to your workshop teacher OR go to the library and remain there quietly until you are picked up. Please do NOT just assume that a teacher who is working in his/her room can visit with you—each of us has a LOT of grading to do this week!

For finals week only, SENIORS may continue to walk off campus OR drive off campus for lunch, with prior parental/guardian WRITTEN permission, and JUNIORS may walk off campus for lunch with prior parental/guardian WRITTEN permission. [Those permission forms may be downloaded from the sidebar to the right...] Seniors and Juniors who leave campus for lunch must sign out as required by their respective Advisors.

Please note that the dismissal time is earlier during exam week—3:00 rather than 3:40. You should make appropriate arrangements for pick-up as teachers may NOT be available to supervise students after 3:00 Monday through Thursday or noon on Friday due to other obligations.This can be a stressful week, so please make sure you are rested and well prepared for each course's final activity. None of the Advisories is planning to sell lunch this week, so please be sure that you either have permission to walk off campus [Juniors and Seniors ONLY], drive of campus [Seniors ONLY] or BRING LUNCH! Books need to be returned this week as well, so dig around under your bed and find that “brick” you have misplaced and in the closet for that math book you haven't had for weeks and get those back to the library once the exam for that class is over! Some of you may need to bring large bags to clean out all of your auxiliary cubbies, so take some stuff home each day to ensure that Friday you do not resemble a camel headed out on caravan!